Vol. 5, Issue 2, Part A (2023)

Density in Heterotrophic bacteria the intertidal sediments and near shore waters was studied from June 2022 to June 2023 at fortnightly intervals from five stations. The mean values of water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and sediment organic matter were 28.9 °C, 36.7 ppt, 4.75 mg/l, 7.8 and 0.75% respectively. The total bacteria density in the near-shore waters ranged from a low density of 213 x 10³ cfu/ml (Station 2; May II) to a high density of 465 x 10³ cfu/ml (Station 3; June II) and averaged to 334 x 10³ cfu/ml. The total bacteria density in the intertidal sediments fluctuated between 174 x 10³ cfu/g (Station 1; March II) and 478 x 10³ cfu/g (Station 3; July II) and averaged to 318 x 10³ cfu/g. Significant negative correlations are observed for salinity, pH and Dissolved Oxygen at Station 2. Significant positive correlations are recorded for water salinity and sediment temperature at Station 4. The paper discusses the impact of Physico-Chemical parameters on the density distribution of bacteria along Visakhapatnam coast.